Senator and Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon has fired back on the comment of President Rodrigo Duterte that the Philippine Red Cross is greedy.

Gordon blamed Health Secretary Francisco Duque for his misleading statement that led the President to call the non-government organization all for money.

“I think he was misled by the statement because the way the predicate was laid by Secretary Duque was wrong,” Gordon said in a virtual press conference.

“Sinabi niya, ‘Nag-test na ulit nung biniyaran’,” Gordon said.

The PRC has been conducting 10,000 coronavirus tests per day and they have obliged to PhilHealth’s request to lower down the rate of their testing.

Gordon said he was not offended by Duterte’s remarks but called it not presidential.

“I think the President should really be careful. Minsan hindi niya alam that the statement is not really presidential,” he said.

In a previous interview, Gordon said that the organization is not working only for money.

“Hindi kami mukhang pera. Pero sabi ko lang, dahan-dahan naman sa pananalita because nakakatulong naman kami. Hindi naman kami umutang, sila ang umutang, sila nagpa-test, ginawa namin. ‘Di ba dapat bayaran ninyo?” he said.

Last month, PRC suspended testing for COVID-19 for clients under PhilHealth over their unpaid claims of over a billion pesos.

Philhealth has paid more than half a billion of their debt to the PRC.